Thursday, December 13, 2007

Donald Fehr speaks out on the Mitchell Report. "We were not afforded that opportunity," said Fehr. "I think in this context that is extraordinarily unusual in a collective bargaining context. Doing that in and of itself says something about the bargaining relationship. They did what they did."

"The program today is a strong and effective one and has even been improved in the two years since it has been announced," he said. "So far as I can tell, the report does not suggest that the program is failing to pick up any steroid use which is possible to detect."

"Many players are named," said Fehr. "Their reputations have been adversely effected, probably forever even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been. In my view anyone interested in fairly assessing the allegations against the players should consider the nature of the evidence presented and the reliability of the source."

"I hope that I will conclude, down the road after we've had a chance to look at what happens, that it was not detrimental," said Fehr of the report. "I will let you know when I'm in a position to make that judgment. I'm not today."